U.S:. Deportment 

of Transportation 

Office ot the Secretory 

of Transportation 

Mr. Robert J. Fell 

Maritime Helicopters 

3520 F.A.A. Road 

Homer, Alaska 99603 

Dear Mr. Fell: 

Assistant Secretary • 

!;q] y i l 

March 19, 2012 !I: I b 

1200 New J11rsey Avenuo. SE 

Was!lin!,l\Of'l, DC 20590 

Thank you for your letter concerning the U.S. Department of Transportation's (Department) 

citizenship investigation ofVIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc. (VIH Cougar). 

On March 12, 2012, the Department issued Order 2012-3-7 tentatively finding that VIH Cougar 

is not a U.S. citizen as defined in 49 U.S.C. § 401 02(a)(l5) and proposing to cancel its air taxi 

authority. Interested parties are provided 21 days from the date ofits issuance to file objections 

to the Department's tentative findings. Access to the docket is available by entering the docket 

number, DOT-OST-2012-0022, into the simple search function at the Department's Docket 

Management System (DMS) website, which is http://www.regulations.gov. 

Finally, since this matter is pending, I am unable to comment on the merits ofVIH Cougar's 

submissions. I assure you, however, that the Department will give full consideration to all 

comments on the record in the docket. 

As is our nonnal practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and this response in Docket 

DOT-OST-2012-0022 as a contact outside the record of this matter. I appreciate your interest in 

this proceeding. 

Sincerely yours, 

Susan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
maritime Helicopters 

February 13, 2012 

Ms. Susan Kurland 

Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Aviation & International Affairs 

United States Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Via email to susan.kurland@dot.gov; susan.l.kurland@dot.gov; faac@dot.gov 

SUBJECT: VIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc. I Foreign Operators Competing with Americans 

Dear Secretary Kurland: 

Petroleum Helicopters, Inc (PHI) challenged the operations ofVIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc. 

(VIH Cougar) in the United States (Alaska, the West Coast, and the Gulf of Mexico). As a 

certificated air carrier I concur with the sentiments expressed in this letter. 

In your October 6, 2011 letter to counsel for VIH Cougar Helicopters, Inc, (VIH Cougar) 

concerning their status as a Part 298 Air Taxi Operator you cited "overwhelming 

evidence" that VIH Cougar is not in compliance with the requirements of the Federal 

Aviation Act that certificated airline operators be citizens of the United States. 

US air carriers have long maintained and you finally concluded that although VIH Cougar 

theoretically complies with the numerical ownership requirements of the statute, it is not under 

the actual control of citizens of the United States. You note four reasons, including: 

• the agency relationship of Mr. Steeper by Mr. Nourie, 

• the provision of technical and operational services and equipment by the VIH Group to 

VIH Cougar, 

· ._. .. COJlk.act.ual·relat4onships -amoHg·tfle.¥.IH·GToupancl-V:IH Cougar-,-and, ·· 

• tellingly, information discrepancies provided to the Department. 

Additionally, VIH Cougar officials have made public statements revealing that company's 

Canadian ties. Each one of these alone would be grounds for a finding on non-compliance, but 

together they show a premeditated and willful lack of compliance disposition as well as noncitizenship. 

During the entire period of this investigation VIH Cougar has continued to compete unfairly with 

U.S certificated operators. VIH Cougar has been the beneficiary of its illegal relationship with 

the VIH Group at the expense of U.S. companies. Since October 6, 2011, VIH has continued to 

do business without any apparent change. lf anything, it is now incentivized to seek ~q<litional 

market share as part of whatever restructuring it may offer to the Department. · · 

3520 FAA. Road, Homer, Alaska 99603 

Phone (907) 235-7771 • FAX (907) 235-7773 

www.maritimehelicopters.com 
While US certificated operators appreciates the Department's very thorough review of the 

allegations against VIH Cougar, we believe that the time has come to stop VIH Cougar's, and 

other foreign entities, lengthy history of flaunting the citizenship requirements and competing 

unfairly against U.S. citizen operators. As the VIH Group remains in control ofVIH Cougar 

almost three months after the 30-day deadline for compliance included in your October 6, 

2011letter, we respectfully request that immediate action be taken to bring an end to this 

illegal situation. 

We urge the Department to move quickly and openly to end this situation, which has gone 

on for several years. VIH Cougar should not be allowed to continue to engage in unlawful 

competition that disadvantages U.S. citizen operators as it delays compliance with U.S. law 

to maximize its ill-gotten gains. VIH Cougar should not be allowed to continue to operate in the 

United States unless it has met the requirements of the Federal Aviation Act that certificated 

airline operators be citizens of the United States. 

The Department's recent Notice of Proposed Policy Clarification for the Registration of 

Aircraft to U.S. Citizen Trustees in Situations Involving Non-U.S. Citizen Trustors and 

Beneficiaries, Federal Register Feb 9, 2012 indicates the serious concern the Department is 

showing with regard to assuring close regulatory oversight of U.S. registered aircraft and 

operations. 

Likewise, in this matter, the operator has persistently evaded statutory requirements for actual 

citizen control. Just as the Department is taking action to assure that regulatory oversight 

on leased US registered aircraft is not avoided through complex ownership instruments, 

the Department should move to quickly close down VIH Cougar's evasion of the statute. 

We believe that there is no public policy that can be served any longer by shielding VIH 

--- --- -c;ougar's-citizenshi.p status from the publlc~- :Havit'lg mad.e the preliminary fuldings base<roo-~~--

"overwhelming evidence," we respectfully request that the Department bring transparency 

to any further proceedings in this matter. The Department's informal proceedings may have 

public policy benefits in enabling operators to arrange their citizenship affairs privately when 

they are seeking to comply with the law, but that does not apply in this case. Here, VIH Cougar 

circumvented the law in a calculated manner and did not merely seek to ascertain the limits of 

the citizenship requirements. Instead, it established, and long operated under, an egregious 

scheme which violated the citizenship requirements and engaged in deception to do so. 
" 

As U.S. citizens, we are entitled to transparency and open government in matters of 

regulatory compliance. Any efforts by the Department to ensure that VIH Cougar divests 

and restructures should be open, transparent and public. 

Respectfully, 

Robert J. Fell 

Director of Operations 

Maritime Helicopters 

Cc: Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation via email to robert.letteney@dot.gov 

Representative Don Young, via email to scott.leathard@mail.house.gov 

Senator Lisa Murkowski, via email to warren.wright@murkowski.senate.gov 

Senator Mark Begich, via email to james feldman@begich.senate.gov 

Governor Sean Parnell, via email to randall.ruaro@alaska.gov; russ.kelly@alaska.gov